Saturday, May 12, 2012

For your perusal

My company recently advertised for staff to fill a position.
In the many resumes I received, a common ending was "... for your perusal .."

Some of the applications were so short and simple that I really wonder if the writer actually knew what it meant. What do you think "for your perusal" means ? I suspect most Singaporean having gone through local schools have the wrong idea of what perusal means.

Do you think that it means "have a quick look", or perhaps, "scan through the brief but important details".. or something like that, meaning a cursory glance at the contents.
I know of some colleagues in the past who submit reports and request for their dept heads to do a quick perusal. So I believe most assume the word perusal to mean a quick look. You agree?

Actually, the word perusal means the opposite of that above.
To 'peruse' is to do a detailed analysis of the data, to carefully study the contents.
Thus, "for your perusal" would entail spending a great deal of your time going over the details of whatever is being submitted for consideration.
It is certainly not a request to skim through the page.